| All Four One | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 6, 1982 | |||
| Recorded | 1981–82 | |||
| Studio | Record One (Los Angeles) | |||
| Genre | New wave | |||
| Length | 33:02 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Producer | Val Garay | |||
| The Motels chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
All Four One is the third studio album by new wave band the Motels, released in 1982. It features the Top 10 hit "Only the Lonely", and the follow-up hit "Take the L". Both songs were assisted by popular MTV music videos. The album was recorded and mixed digitally.
After the minor success of Careful , the Motels went back into the studio in early 1981 to record their third album with producer Val Garay. The band at this time consisted of Martha Davis on vocals and guitar, Tim McGovern on lead guitar, Marty Jourard on keyboards, Michael Goodroe on bass and Brian Glascock on drums.
Wanting to stretch the limits as to what they could do artistically and musically, the band recorded some of its darkest and heaviest music to date. McGovern, Davis' boyfriend at the time, clashed with Garay in the studio, and ended up de facto producer and arranger for the album, which was titled Apocalypso . Martha Davis considers this period "the last time the Motels were uninhibited, wild, and not worried about our place on the charts." [2] [3]
Neither the band nor Garay ever submitted any of the recordings to Capitol Records while the recording process was underway. When the record company heard the finished product, they rejected it for being "not commercial enough" and "too weird", and Apocalypso was scrapped. The band attempted to go back and re-record the entire album but in the process, Davis and McGovern's relationship dissolved and by December 1981 McGovern was no longer in the band. [4] [5]
With McGovern gone, Garay took a different approach with the re-recording process, utilizing studio musicians throughout the album, and molding the final product to a more commercially appealing sound. Several band members were used sparingly or not at all on the final recordings; in particular, studio drummer Craig Krampf replaced Brian Glascock on all tracks, Waddy Wachtel was featured on guitar in place of the departed McGovern, and the bass slot on several tracks was filled by one of two session players in place of Michael Goodroe. Adrian Peritore (who went by the name Guy Perry because his former producer had misspelled his name on an album cover) was hired in late January as an official band member, and played lead guitar on some of the tracks. Six Apocalypso tracks were completely re-recorded for the new album, while four new tracks were added (including the hit "Take the L", and a cover of the Goffin/King song "He Hit Me (It Felt Like a Kiss)"). The album was renamed All Four One because the band had recorded four albums but one would not be released, and because the four remaining members had stayed together to complete the album. It was released on April 5, 1982, by Capitol Records. [4]
Despite its rough beginnings, All Four One was the first U.S. hit album for The Motels, and was the band's best selling album. The first single from All Four One was "Only the Lonely", which reached No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 27 on the Adult Contemporary chart, [6] as well as No. 6 on the Billboard Top Tracks chart. The song "Mission of Mercy" also received enough airplay to reach No. 23 on the Top Tracks chart. [7] [8] In addition, two other singles, "Take the L" and "Forever Mine", also managed to reach the Billboard Hot 100. [5] The album's release coincided with the emergence of MTV, and music videos were produced for both "Only the Lonely" and "Take the L". Davis won an award in the Best Performance in a Music Video category at the American Music Awards in 1982 for her performance in the "Only the Lonely" video. [9]
Apocalypso was eventually released in August 2011. [2]
All songs written by Martha Davis, except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mission of Mercy" | Martha Davis, Marty Jourard | 3:02 |
| 2. | "Take the L" | Carter, Davis, Jourard | 3:42 |
| 3. | "Only the Lonely" | Davis | 3:16 |
| 4. | "Art Fails" | Davis, Tim McGovern | 3:12 |
| 5. | "Change My Mind" | Davis, Steve Goldstein | 3:21 |
| 6. | "So L.A." | 3:16 | |
| 7. | "Tragic Surf" | Davis, McGovern | 3:32 |
| 8. | "Apocalypso" | 3:16 | |
| 9. | "He Hit Me (and It Felt like a Kiss)" | Gerry Goffin, Carole King | 2:28 |
| 10. | "Forever Mine" | 3:22 | |
| Total length: | 33:02 | ||
| Chart (1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report) [10] | 20 |
| Canada Albums | 39 |
| 'U.S.' Billboard 200 | 16 |
| Chart (1982) | Position |
|---|---|
| New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) [11] | 32 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 [12] | 51 |
The Motels are an American new wave band from Berkeley, California that is best known for the singles "Only the Lonely" and "Suddenly Last Summer", each of which peaked at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, in 1982 and 1983, respectively. In 1980, The Motels song "Total Control" reached No. 7 on the Australian chart, and their song "Danger" reached No. 15 on the French chart.
Café Racers is the eighth studio album by American singer Kim Carnes, released in October 1983 by EMI.
"Only the Lonely" is a song by American new wave band The Motels. It was released in 1982 as the first single from their third studio album All Four One. Propelled by a popular music video, it debuted at number 90 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 on April 24, 1982. It would ultimately climb to number 9 on July 17 of that year where it spent four weeks in that position. On the U.S. Cash Box Top 100, it performed slightly better, peaking at number 8 for two weeks. The song is included in the 2006 video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories in the fictional power ballad radio station Emotion 98.3.
Motels is the first studio album by new wave band The Motels, recorded in the spring of 1979 and released in the fall. It was produced by John Carter. It peaked at #175 on Billboard's album chart in December.
Careful is the second studio album by new wave band The Motels. It was recorded between March and May 1980, and released in June 1980. The album was produced by John Carter who had produced the group's 1979 debut.
Little Robbers is the RIAA Gold-certified fourth studio album by new wave band The Motels. It was recorded between February and August 1983 and released on September 16 of that year.
Shock is the fifth studio album by new wave band The Motels. It was recorded during 1984 and 1985, and released in August 1985. It sold approximately 400,000 copies in the United States.
Atomic Cafe: Greatest Songs Live is the second live album released by the band The Motels, recorded live in Boston in 1979 & 1980.
Anthologyland is a compilation album containing material from the new wave band, The Motels, plus work by Warfield Foxes, and solo work by Martha Davis, including a couple of duets with Sly Stone and Ivan Neville. This two disc album is a collection of alternate takes, demonstrations, live recordings, outtakes, and sound track releases.
Apocalypso was released in 2011, although it was recorded in 1981 and intended to be the third studio album by the band The Motels.
The Motels and Martha Davis discography includes the following.
Martha Emily Davis is an American rock and new wave singer-songwriter from Berkeley, California. She is most famous for being the lead singer of the band The Motels, but has also made several solo albums, contributed many songs to motion pictures, been on television, and worked onstage with Teatro ZinZanni.
"Shame" is a song by American new wave band The Motels, which was released in 1985 as the lead single from their fifth studio album Shock. The song was written by Martha Davis and produced by Richie Zito. "Shame" peaked at number 21 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"Remember the Nights" is a song by American new wave band The Motels, which was released in 1983 as the second single from their fourth studio album Little Robbers. The song was written by Martha Davis and Scott Thurston, and produced by Val Garay. "Remember the Nights" peaked at number 36 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"Shock" is a song by American new wave band The Motels, which was released in 1985 as the second single from their fifth studio album Shock. The song was written by Martha Davis and Scott Thurston, and produced by Richie Zito. "Shock" peaked at number 84 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"Whose Problem?" is a song by American new wave band The Motels, which was released in 1980 as the third and final single from their second studio album Careful. The song was written by Martha Davis and produced by Carter. "Whose Problem?" failed to chart in the US, but reached number 42 in the UK Singles Chart and number 43 in the Australian Kent Music Report chart.
"Danger" is a song by American new wave band The Motels, which was released in 1980 as the second single from their second studio album Careful. The song was written by Martha Davis and Tim McGovern, and produced by Carter. "Danger" saw limited commercial success in the US, but generated more chart action in Australasia, peaking at number 88 in Australia and 30 in New Zealand.
"Forever Mine" is a song by American new wave band The Motels, which was released in 1982 as the third single from their third studio album All Four One. The song was written by Martha Davis and produced by Val Garay. "Forever Mine" peaked at number 60 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"Take the L" is a song by American new wave band The Motels, which was released in 1982 as the second single from their third studio album All Four One. The song was written by Marty Jourard, Martha Davis and Carter, and produced by Val Garay. "Take the L" peaked at number 52 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
"Days Are OK", also known as "Days Are OK ", is a song by American new wave band The Motels, which was released in 1980 as the first single from their second studio album Careful. The song was written by Tim McGovern and produced by Carter.
